Presentation of Huy

The municipality of Huy (20,232 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 4,774 ha) is located between Namur and
Liège, on the confluency of the rivers Hoyoux and Meuse. The municipality of Huy is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Huy, Ben-Ahin and Tihange (including Neuville-sous-Huy since 1970).

Huy was mentioned for the first time, as Hoium, in a
testament dated 636. A village was probably built earlier near a
Roman castrum (fortified camp) set up on the right bank of the
Meuse. It is also said that saint Materne dedicated a shrine to the
Blessed Virgin there in the IInd century.
In the VIIth century, the area was evangelized by saint Domitian,
Bishop of Tongeren and first patron saint
of the town. Accordingly, two churches dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin and saint Cosmo were built. A shrine dedicated to saint
Materne is mentioned in a document dated 634. In the Merovingian
times, Huy was a small but very active river port. Coins with the
writing choe castro were minted in the town, showing that a
castle already existed in Huy. The castle was explicitely mentioned
for the first time in 890 in a bill of sale. Grapevine was grown on
the slopes of the spur. Bronze foundry workers, bone and horn cutters
and potters had workshops in the borough of Batta.

In 941, German Emperor Otto I created the short-lived County of
Huy, encompassing most of the regions of Condroz and Hesbaye. The
last count, Ansfried, ceded it to the Bishop of Liège in 985.
Huy was then included as a "good town" (bonne ville) in the Principality
of Liège.
In the XIth century, Huy was an important industrial center.
Blacksmiths formed the most powerful guild. Water wheels built on the
Houyoux allowed the development of several ironworks and smelting
furnaces. Copper beating was exported all over Europe thanks to two
famous artists from Huy, Rénier de Huy (baptismal founts in
St. Bartholomeuw's church of Liège) and Godefroid de Claire
(reliquaries of St. Mengold and St. Domitian in the collegiate church
of Huy).
In 1066, Bishop Theoduin of Bayern needed funds to rebuild the
cathedral Notre-Dame. The citizens of Huy ceded him half of their
loose goods against a chart of rights, which was the first ever
granted to a town in western Europe. Remains of the crypt of
Theoduin's church, housing the relics of saints Domitian and Mengold,
were discovered in 1906.
In the XIIIth and XIVth centuries, the fortune of Huy was due to
cloth trade. Coins from Huy found in Russia and in Scandinavia are
evidence of the international fame of the town. The building of a
Gothic cathedral started in March 1311, requiring the demolition of
Theoduin's Romanesque church. The choir was consecrated in 1377, whereas
the vaults are dated 1523 (transept crossing) and 1536 (great arch
below the tower).

The prince-bishops of Liège increased the castle of Huy, known as
Tchestia, and improved its defense system with towers and walls. In
1328, Prince-Bishop Adolphe de la Marck, challenged by the citizens
of Liège, entrenched himself in the castle of Huy. So did John
of Bayern in 1408. In the XVth century, Huy was one of the richest
and most pleasant towns in the Duchy of
Burgundy. In 1472, Duke Charles le
Téméraire completely revamped the castle. At the same
time, Prince-Bishop Erard de la Marck let dig the 90 m deep well. The
castle was then chosen as the symbolic emblem of the town.
However, this castle, built in a strategic location and protecting
Liège on the west, caused the decline of Huy in the XVI-XVIIth centuries. It was for instance seized by the Dutch governor
Heraugiere in 1595, who was then expelled by Count de la Motte.
Another attempt of Dutch invasion failed in 1602. In the next 30
years, the castle was besieged and seized 12 times by Louis XIV or
his opponents' coalition. Most of the vineyard disappeared. In 1715,
the treaty of la Barrière prescribed the destruction of all
fortresses, including Huy, in order to secure the end the War of
Spanish Succession. The inhabitants of Huy were so happy to get rid
of the cause of their misfortune that they destroyed themselves the
castle stone by stone. For one century, the rocky hill on which the
castle had been built remained bare and abandoned.

After the fall of the French Empire and the incorporation of Huy
to the Netherlands, the strategical interest of Huy was reevaluated.
On 6 April 1818, the building of a new fort started, patroned by
prince Frederic. The plans of the fort were drafted by engineer
Cammerlingh and the building site was directed by captain Ammamaet.
The Dutch state allocated 1,200,000 guilders to the building of the
fort, whose main role was to protect the country from an attack
coming from the south. The fort was achieved in 1823; it was a big
rectangular fortress made of limestone, including several loopholes
and 17 m high curtains. The side of the fortress watchinh the river Meuse
was 148 m wide while the two other sides, watching the town and the Condroz
plateau, were 108 m wide. The fort was equiped with 50 cannons served
by 100 men. However, those cannons were never used but for
festivities.
In 1848, the citadell was transformed into a state jail. The
Risquons-tout workers, who had proclaimed the republic against
the monarchy, were jailed there for seven years. In 1876, the
municipality of Huy purchased the fort for 30,000 francs, but General
Brialmont reincorporated it to the national heritage as a part of the
defense system of the Meuse. The industrial revolution made of Huy
the "Billionaires' Town". Among the ancient industrial traditions of
Huy, pewterware production is still significant.
During the First World War, the fortress of Huy was used by the
Germans as a disciplinary camp for their own troops and Russian
prisonners. During the Second World War, it was used as a jail for
more than 6,000 French and Belgian political opponents.
The municipality purchased the fort in 1973 for one symbolic
franc. On 28 June 1992, the Museum of Resistance and Concentration
Camps was inaugurated, following a convention with the municipality
of Huy.

The source cascading from Mont-Picard to the Meuse, known as the
Fontaine d'Ahin, has been the natural border between the County of
Namur and the Principality of Liège for ages. In 1505, it was
known as the spamicon. It is shown on all military maps used
by Louis XIV when he besieged Huy. It was also the limit between the
municipalities of Huy and Ahin. The fountain was used as a watering
and washing place until 1938, the year water conveyance was set up in
Huy.
The castle of Beaufort was located on the territory of the former
municipality of Ben-Ahin, part of Huy since 1976. The family of
Beaufort is very ancient: its early members are reported to have
fought the Normans in a chronicle dated 881. Lord Wauthier of
Beaufort is mentioned in 1044. A chart dated 1127 says that Lambert
and Arnoud of Beaufort built an oratory on their domain of Benz
(later shortened to Ben). The castle of Beaufort seems to have been
built in the XIIth century by the prince-bishops of Liège as
an advanced defense of their town against the counts of Namur. Arnold
de Beaufort is called in a chart, dated 1227 and probably the oldest
mention of the castle, the chief of the "Men" of the
prince-bishop.
In 1271, a Beaufort betrayed Liège and placed the castle under
the homage of the count of Namur. Accordingly, the castle was a
permanent threat for the town of Huy, located only 5 km from the
castle and still in the domain of Liège. In 1276, the
inhabitants of Huy besieged Beaufort in the so-called Cow's War, to
no avail. Jean II, count of Namur, purchased the domain of Beaufort
in 1330 and ceded it to his brother Robert.
In the XVth century, the Count of Namur sold his county to Duke of
Burgundy Philippe le Bon. In the same time, the inhabitants of
Dinant, a town located on the Meuse and
belonging to Liège, fortified their castle. Philippe
complained to the prince-bishop of Liège, who appointed
commissioners in order to watch the two castles. However, the
inhabitants of Dinant and Huy allied, seized Beaufort in June 1430
and completely demolished the castle. Archeological excavations done
by the University of Liège in the 1970s did not yield anything
more recent than the XVth century, definitively showing that the
ruins of the castle had been immediatly abandoned.
Around 1850, Duke of Beaufort-Spontin purchased one hectare of
land bristled with rocks, ruins and thickets, in order to preserve
the birthplace of his ancestors. The family still owns the domain,
which was put on the Register of Historical Monuments by Royal Decree on 3 July
1984. The municipality of Huy signed a convention with Duke Friedrich
of Beaufort, allowing a public access to the ruins in summertime.

Municipal flag of Huy

The municipal flag of Huy is horizontally divided yellow-red with
a blue border, except along the hoist.
According to Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones, this "traditional" flag was not approved by the Heraldry and Vexillology Council of the French Community.
Yellow and red are the traditional colours of Liège, while the blue border might come from the opening of the fort on the municipal coat of arms.

The municipal administration communicated the "official" flag of Huy, horizontally divided yellow-red with a white key placed along the hoist. The key recalls the strategic location of the town. However, the flag in use seems to be the "traditional" one, as shown on a photography of the town hall taken by Johan Mares (undated). The only flag visible in the town in May 2008, on the town hall, inside the fortress and in other places, was indeed the "traditional" flag.

The coat of arms of Huy is "Gules, a fort or open azure on a terrace vert".